Israel will not hand over the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange deal, a government source stated Monday night.
Earlier in the evening, Arab media outlet Al Arabiya/Al Hadath reported that Hamas requested Sinwar's body be handed over during the first phase of the deal.
"Israel will not hand over the body of arch-terrorist Sinwar to Hamas as part of the deal," the source stated.
"It won't happen, period."
President Biden's remarks
This comes after President Joe Biden said, "We're on the brink of the proposal that I laid out in detail months ago, finally coming to fruition," in pre-scheduled remarks on Monday afternoon at the State Department.
Biden explained that there is a structure to free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow a significant surge in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians "who suffered terribly in this war and Hamas started."